1.When we feel fear constantly, its manifestations are feelings of dread, anxiety and often avoidant behavior.
When we feel fear, we end up avoiding almost everything related to relationships, confrontations, assumptions and so on. In couple, marital or family relationships, fear manifests itself in avoiding discussions about emotional issues, about the partner, about the relationship in general or about situations that might make us feel uncomfortable.
2. Anxiety! Fear also leads to anxiety. Such a state can easily be observed in people who are frequently anxious, restless and have difficulty concentrating.
3. Negative thinking patterns. When we feel fear, it can easily happen that we have negative thoughts, patterns of thinking that limit or block us from possible solutions or from identifying resources to resolve certain situations and life situations.
Some people tend to catastrophize and imagine the worst (black-white, right-wrong, right-wrong thinking) and adopt patterns that they end up operationalizing and generalizing with in everyday life. They are also people who tend to think in conclusions.
4. Fear creates self-confidence problems! Fear erodes relationships; first with the self and then relationships with others.
When a partner is afraid of being hurt or betrayed, he or she will have problems trusting his or her partner even when the partner has done nothing wrong.
5. The feeling of fear can also be felt organically and can trigger reactions such as sweating, choking, muscle tension, etc.
Note that fear, like other feelings, is human. Without the awareness of a dose of fear we could not be vigilant in our lives. It helps us to be prompt in certain situations, take action and protect ourselves. But when the state of fear grows to a critical level, and overwhelms us, then it definitely has negative effects on us and affects our state of balance, relationships etc.
In such situations, the help of a specialist can be helpful. Confidently seek the help of a psychotherapist to help you work and transform that state into at least a manageable one.
Valentina Şimon, systemic couple and family psychotherapist